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Privacy Policy
Last updated: 25 August 2026
We appreciate your visit to our websites and your interest in our company. Protecting your personal data is important to us. The following information explains how we process personal data in connection with our websites, online shop and business relationships in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG).
This Privacy Policy applies in particular to www.knistermann.de and shop.knistermann.de.
1. Controller
The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation is:
Knistermann
Personally liable partner: Franco Braca
Bahnstr. 76
47929 Grefrath
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 2158 / 40 14 222
Fax: +49 (0) 2158 / 40 14 223
Email: info@knistermann.de
Website: www.knistermann.de
2. Data Protection Officer
Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:
Miriam Braca
Bahnstr. 76
47929 Grefrath
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 2158 / 40 14 222
Fax: +49 (0) 2158 / 40 14 223
Email: datenschutz@knistermann.de
3. Accessing our websites and server log files
3.1 Scope of processing
When you access our websites, technically necessary information is automatically transmitted to our web server. The following data may in particular be processed:
IP address of the accessing device,
date and time of access,
page or file requested,
HTTP method and protocol,
HTTP status code,
amount of data transferred,
referrer URL,
browser type and version,
operating system,
where applicable, additional technical information required to ensure system security.
3.2 Purposes and legal bases
We process these data in order to technically provide our websites, ensure the stability and security of our systems, detect errors and prevent unauthorised access and other cyberattacks.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the secure, reliable and user-friendly operation of our websites. Where access to our website directly serves to enter into or perform a contract with you, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR may additionally apply.
3.3 Storage period
Server log files are stored only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above. Unless security-related events require longer storage, the regular storage period is no longer than 30 days.
4. Cookies and similar technologies
4.1 Technically necessary technologies
Our websites and in particular our online shop may use cookies, local storage entries or similar technologies that are strictly necessary in order to provide functions expressly requested by you. These may include session cookies and technologies used for shopping carts, logins, security and language settings.
Where information is stored on or accessed from your terminal device, strictly necessary technologies are used on the basis of Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG. The associated processing of personal data is based, depending on the purpose, on Article 6(1)(b) or Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
4.2 Optional analytics, marketing and convenience services
Technologies that are not strictly necessary for the operation of our websites are only used after you have given your prior consent. This applies in particular to optional analytics, statistics, marketing and comparable services.
In such cases, information is stored on or accessed from your terminal device on the basis of Section 25(1) TDDDG. Where personal data are processed, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.
The optional services currently used, their providers, purposes, technologies, storage periods, recipients and any transfers to third countries are displayed to you via the consent management system or cookie settings provided on the website before you give your consent.
You may withdraw or change your consent at any time with effect for the future via the cookie settings. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent before its withdrawal.
5. Contacting us
If you contact us by email, contact form, telephone, fax, post or another communication channel, we process the information you provide in order to handle and respond to your request. This may include your name, company, contact details and the content of your enquiry.
Where your enquiry concerns entering into or performing a contract with you, processing is based on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Other business enquiries are processed on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the proper handling and response to enquiries addressed to us.
6. Dealer registration and customer account
Our services are exclusively intended for commercial customers. Registration or approval as a commercial customer is therefore generally required in order to use our online shop.
The following information may in particular be processed during registration:
company and legal form,
proprietor or authorised representatives,
contact person,
VAT identification number,
email address,
postal address,
telephone number and, where applicable, fax number,
other information voluntarily provided,
business registration certificate,
where applicable, commercial register extract or other proof of commercial status.
We process these data in particular to verify your commercial status, create and manage your customer account, verify your eligibility to use our B2B services and establish and perform the business relationship.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR where you personally are the contracting party. Where you act as a contact person or employee of a company, processing is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the proper establishment and performance of business relationships and ensuring that our services are used exclusively by eligible commercial customers.
Where statutory verification or documentation obligations apply, processing is additionally based on Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.
7. Orders and performance of contracts
When you order goods from us, we process the information required to receive, process and perform your order. This includes in particular:
customer and contact information,
billing and delivery addresses,
order and product information,
prices and invoice information,
selected payment method,
shipping information,
communications relating to the order,
where applicable, VAT identification number and other tax-relevant information.
Processing for the establishment, performance and completion of the contractual relationship is based on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.
Where you act on behalf of a company and are not personally the contracting party, your contact details are processed on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the communication with and performance of the business relationship with the company you represent.
8. Payment processing
For payment processing purposes, we process the necessary invoice, payment and transaction data and, where required, transmit them to participating banks, payment service providers or other entities involved in processing the payment.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Where we are required by law to retain or document certain payment information, Article 6(1)(c) GDPR additionally applies.
9. Shipping and delivery
For the delivery of orders, we transmit the information required for delivery to the relevant parcel carrier or freight forwarding company. This may in particular include your name or company, delivery address, telephone number or email address where required, and shipping-related order information.
The shipping providers used by us include UPS and GLS as well as freight forwarding companies commissioned by us where necessary.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR or, in the case of company contact persons, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
10. Newsletter
Where we offer an email newsletter and you subscribe to it, we use your email address and any additional information voluntarily provided to send you the newsletter.
Registration is generally carried out using a double opt-in procedure. We store the information required to document your consent.
The legal basis for sending the newsletter is your consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. You may withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future, in particular by using the unsubscribe link contained in each newsletter or by contacting us.
Where optional measurement or tracking technologies are used within newsletters, they are used only in accordance with the applicable legal requirements and, where required, on the basis of your consent.
11. Email advertising to existing customers
If we have obtained your email address in connection with the sale of goods or services, we may use it under the statutory conditions of Section 7(3) of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) to advertise our own similar goods or services, provided you have not objected to such use.
The associated processing of personal data is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is direct advertising to existing customers.
You may object to the use of your email address for this purpose at any time with effect for the future without incurring costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs.
12. Creditworthiness checks
Where we provide goods or services in advance or otherwise have a legitimate risk of non-payment, we may conduct a creditworthiness check before entering into a contract or during an ongoing business relationship.
For this purpose, information required for identification may be transmitted to a credit agency and we may receive information concerning creditworthiness or statistical probability values from that agency.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interests are the prevention of payment defaults and fraud and the financial protection of services provided in advance.
Where a creditworthiness check is actually carried out, we will inform you about the specific credit agency used and provide the additional information required under data protection law no later than in connection with the relevant credit enquiry.
13. Applications
If you apply for employment with us, we process the information you provide as part of your application. This may include contact and identification data, your CV, references, qualifications, professional experience, application documents and correspondence.
Processing is carried out for the purpose of deciding whether to establish an employment relationship on the basis of Section 26(1) BDSG in conjunction with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.
If you voluntarily provide special categories of personal data within the meaning of Article 9 GDPR, we will process such information only where a statutory legal basis applies or you have validly consented to the processing.
Application data relating to unsuccessful applicants are generally deleted after completion of the application process once they are no longer required for the application procedure or for defending against possible legal claims. This generally occurs no later than six months after completion of the application procedure unless a longer statutory retention obligation applies or you have consented to longer storage.
14. Compliance with legal obligations
We process personal data where necessary to comply with statutory obligations. These include in particular commercial, tax, customs and, where applicable, other regulatory documentation and retention requirements.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.
15. Establishment, exercise and defence of legal claims
We may process personal data where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, for preventing misuse or for investigating legal violations.
The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the protection and enforcement of our legal and commercial interests.
16. Recipients and categories of recipients
Within our company, access to personal data is restricted to persons who require such data in order to perform their duties.
Personal data may additionally be transferred in particular to the following recipients or categories of recipients:
hosting and IT service providers,
online shop and software service providers,
email and communication service providers,
banks and payment service providers,
UPS, GLS and other parcel carriers or freight forwarding companies,
tax advisers, auditors and other professional advisers,
lawyers and debt collection service providers,
credit agencies where a creditworthiness check is carried out,
authorities and public bodies where disclosure is required by law.
Where service providers process personal data on our behalf, such processing is carried out on the basis of a data processing agreement pursuant to Article 28 GDPR where legally required.
17. Transfers of data to third countries
Personal data are transferred to countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area only where the statutory requirements for such a transfer are met.
Where optional services involve providers established in or processing data in a third country, we inform you before the relevant processing about the provider, the relevant third country and the safeguards applicable to the transfer. Such safeguards may include an adequacy decision by the European Commission, certification under a recognised data protection framework or Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by the European Commission.
18. Storage periods
As a general rule, we retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the respective purpose or for as long as statutory retention obligations apply.
Information relating to contractual and business relationships is retained at least for the duration of the contractual relationship and subsequently for the relevant statutory retention and limitation periods.
Depending on the type of document, commercial and tax law may in particular require retention periods of six, eight or ten years. This applies, for example, to commercial and business correspondence, accounting vouchers, books, annual financial statements and other tax-relevant documentation.
Once the relevant periods have expired, the data are deleted or anonymised unless another legal basis permits or requires continued storage.
19. Sources of personal data
As a general rule, we collect personal data directly from you.
Where personal data are not obtained directly from you, they may in particular originate from publicly accessible registers and sources, the company you represent or, in connection with a permissible creditworthiness check, a credit agency.
20. Your rights as a data subject
Subject to the applicable statutory requirements, you have in particular the following rights:
right of access pursuant to Article 15 GDPR,
right to rectification pursuant to Article 16 GDPR,
right to erasure pursuant to Article 17 GDPR,
right to restriction of processing pursuant to Article 18 GDPR,
right to data portability pursuant to Article 20 GDPR,
right to object pursuant to Article 21 GDPR,
right to withdraw consent pursuant to Article 7(3) GDPR.
Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent before its withdrawal.
21. Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
Pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement.
Our competent supervisory authority is:
Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen
Kavalleriestraße 2–4
40213 Düsseldorf
Germany
Telephone: +49 211 38424-0
Fax: +49 211 38424-999
Email: poststelle@ldi.nrw.de
Website: www.ldi.nrw.de
22. Requirement to provide personal data
As a general rule, you are legally required to provide personal data only where a statutory provision imposes such an obligation.
In order to establish and perform a business relationship, however, you must provide the information required for registration, verification of your commercial status, processing an order and performing the relevant contract.
Without these data, we may be unable to create a customer account, accept an order or perform a contract with you.
23. Automated decision-making and profiling
As a general rule, we do not use decision-making based solely on automated processing within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you.
Statistical probability values or scores may be used in connection with creditworthiness checks. Decisions concerning the establishment or performance of a business relationship are not made solely by automated means unless you have previously been separately informed about such processing and the applicable statutory requirements.
24. Right to object under Article 21 GDPR
Where we process personal data on the basis of Article 6(1)(e) or Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data.
We will then no longer process the personal data concerned unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for such marketing. Following your objection, your personal data will no longer be processed for direct marketing purposes.
Your objection may be submitted in any form, in particular to:
Knistermann
Bahnstr. 76
47929 Grefrath
Germany
Email: info@knistermann.de
25. Amendments to this Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy if our data processing activities, the technical services used by us or the applicable statutory requirements change. The current version published on our websites shall apply.